Tinnitus Spike After Pfizer COVID-19 Booster Jab

Hi all,

I`ve had low level bilateral tinnitus for a couple of years now which I believe was induced by an antibiotic prescribed for a dental infection and had just about habituated to the high frequency tones until last Wednesday when I had my Pfizer booster.

The first two vaccinations last year with AstraZeneca caused no issue whatsoever and I foolishly believed all would be fine after the booster... not so. Although there were no side effects on the day of the jab the following morning I could barely get out of bed with fatigue and a frontal headache which felt like I`d been hit with a baseball bat and the loudest tinnitus I`ve ever experienced. It`s now 3 days since the jab and although the headache and extreme fatigue has lessened the tinnitus is off the scale.

Having read many similar threads it seems I`m not alone in the vaccination either causing or worsening people`s tinnitus although this isn`t mentioned in the usual or rare side effects listings. I can only hope the tinnitus returns to pre booster levels and feel for anyone who has experienced this overwhelming tinnitus response to the vaccine. In future I will not be accepting any vaccines offered and am prepared to take my chances in order to live a normal life which allows sleep. Hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing.

 

Sorry to learn you are having a spike after the booster. I had the J&J which I believe works similar to the AstraZeneca...

Now with Pfizer or Moderna recommended as the booster for J&J shots... and Omicron taking the wind out of the current vaccines (apparently)... I am not sure what to do.

Hopefully peaceful days are ahead for you... and good rest.

 

Almost exactly the same for me.

I had resisted taking the vaccine for a long time.

Then vaccine passports became a thing and I took the plunge.

My tinnitus had become so low in the past few years that I didn’t even research tinnitus as a side effect. I was more worried about myocarditis.

Well 1 week after my first jab, loud tinnitus resumed. In the following week humming and pulsatile tinnitus started.

Now the humming has reduced to be replaced with constant thudding heartbeat.

Judging by the stories I’ve read here and elsewhere this is not a rare phenomenon.

Sometimes you should just follow your gut about taking medication or vaccines. I was swayed by the constant media pressure and that from my employers.

 

As a follow up to my original post of 18th December, unfortunately there is no good news to instill some confidence into people who have also suffered since their booster jab.

The high pitched screaming in both ears has not subsided and if anything it is worse and is now accompanied with "hearing" my heartbeat which is especially obvious when lying down trying to get to sleep. The last 10 days have been a hellish nightmare of 2 to 3 hours sleep per night along with feeling like a zombie albeit a miserable and angry one. Christmas this year has been such a grim experience, unable to find any enjoyment in what should be a joyful time.

For anyone considering getting the booster jab who suffers with even the hint of tinnitus my advice is to stay as far away from it as possible. I`m not an anti-vaxxer and believe that vaccination is the only way out of the pandemic but the side effects in my case are simply not worth it. My thoughts are with anyone who is enduring a similar situation and we can only hope that the increased symptoms subside as the efficacy of the vaccine declines over time.

If I thought for one moment there was some respite to be gained by visiting my GP I`d not hesitate but what they could do I can`t think. The irony being that my GP surgery sent a text just before my booster jab stating they are not accepting any routine appointments due to concentrating on the vaccination drive.

What a truly cruel condition tinnitus is.

 

I understand you completely pioneer.

Trying to sleep while you hear your heartbeat booming in your ear is nearly impossible.

The only good a GP can do is give you good sleep medication.

I too hope that this is temporary.

I am trying an anti-inflammatory diet and trying to get out in nature as much as possible.

I had pulsatile tinnitus before. It took 10 months to resolve.

Even now sitting in a quiet room I hear the booming of my heart.

Doesn’t bode well for sleep tonight.

May heaven help us!

 

Same here... I had my 1st jab (Pfizer) in June and got tinnitus a month later which gradually became louder over time.

Put off 2nd jab until 2 weeks ago. Honestly thinking back, now I don't know why I went and got it but that was a massive mistake. 3 days later and my tinnitus has x2 in sound, maybe even x3...

I actually think my tinnitus was going down a bit or maybe I was just getting used to it?

Definitely caused by inflammation in my opinion so surely through time it has to go down.

My worry is is it going to get worse as it did after the 1st jab...

No idea how long it will take as some people have had the same constant noise from January after their 1st jab...

Did you try a course of Prednisone 40mg for 5 days at any point?

 

I hope you recover from tinnitus soon. There are a lot of similar stories reporting tinnitus after getting vaccinated, although we cannot be sure about the prevalence of tinnitus after the COVID-19 vaccines because no one is interested in measuring this, or listing side effects and providing real, accurate numbers.

 

The Pfizer vaccine also made my tinnitus much more reactive and prone to spiking wildly. I got the booster a week ago - it gave me a moderate increase that is still going on. The second jab 8 months ago did not worsen the damage the first jab had done, which is why I ultimately chose to go for the booster. A mistake? We'll have to see - I was already going through a spike when I had the booster, so it's difficult to say by how much the booster made my tinnitus worse.

 

It’s amazing how one decision (to get a vaccine) can change your life forever. It’s been 9+ months for me since the J&J vaccine. I went to my GP twice and two different ENTs. I have perfect hearing per my hearing test. I never had so much as a hint of a noise prior. Both ENTs said it came from the vaccine. They didn’t even hesitate.

It’s improved but not gone. I use masking devices. Arches bioflavonoids. CBD. Nebulizer. And pray that someday I will wake up with silence. I had to go on prescription sleeping pills in the beginning as the anxiety and alarms in my ears were off the chart. Now I sleep with just my high dose CBD and Melatonin.

I will never ever get a booster.

 

What the hell did we do to ourselves??? Is this autoimmune or what? I’d love to know.

 

No one I have seen has recovered.

 

There is one guy on Tinnitus Talk who recovered after 4 months. He treated it as inflammatory and took Ibuprofen with meals.

I really can’t understand why anyone would take a second or booster dose of any of those vaccines.

My 2nd Pfizer jab is scheduled for 21st January. There is no way I’m going for it.

This is an interesting story from a vaccine doctor who contracted tinnitus following vaccination:

https://www.healio.com/news/primary...vid19-vaccination-tinnitus-worth-looking-into

 

An acquaintance got ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) after the swine flu vaccine.

That person lost 7 years and the marriage. Fortunately ME is usually never permanent I believe.

 

Hi @Exit -- For most people, ME is usually permanent. Yes, people can make improvements, but very few ever return to the level of health they had before developing ME. I'd say I'm about 75% recovered, but don't anticipate I'll ever get to 100%. But I am supremely grateful for the improvements I've had. I'm certainly in the minority.

 

@Pioneer44, I'm about to get my booster soon but have been struggling with tinnitus for about 3 months now after getting a Toradol shot. My tinnitus has gotten quite a bit better, although I still do have my bad days. I'm wondering if you experienced any changes in your tinnitus after the first two shots, or was it just the third one that changed everything?

 

Numbers game. Probability of getting or increasing tinnitus from the booster vs getting it from this new variant.

I think chances are higher of getting tinnitus from the new variant.

I got 2 shots of Pfizer. Getting my booster next week. Tinnitus increased for 2-3 days after the shot but it went back down.

 

To anyone considering whether to have a COVID-19 vaccine and asking others for their views and experience, at the end of the day it`s a purely personal decision based on your beliefs and feelings. You obviously have concerns by way of your reading this and many similar threads on Tinnitus Talk and have to weigh up the pros and cons to make your ultimate decision, I can only relate my journey.

It`s now 3 weeks since my Pfizer vaccination (@Lan2021! - I had no reaction whatsoever after my 1st or 2nd AstraZeneca vaccination) and the high pitched bilateral tones have not decreased in any way. I now walk past high buildings and for the first time in my life the thought of climbing to the top and throwing myself off crosses my mind in order to escape the torture that has become my life. There is no respite from the grim reality in which I now live and anyone who has had the misfortune to suffer a similar outcome following vaccination has my deepest sympathy.

Satan will be skating to work before I have another vaccination.

 

All we can do is wait.

Even a year is not very long with this condition.

What makes me sad is that this year I will be 60. I am in great health except for this damn humming and hissing.

These are probably the last few years of active life for me.

I hate to lose even a day to this horrible condition.

Already it has taken the Christmas joy away.

Folks I’m just venting.

It just seems so pointless to lose your joy in life through taking a vaccine.

 

I turn 60 this year, myself. I have three weddings to attend (including my own) and all I can think about is tinnitus.

I had two Pfizer jabs in February and March with no issues. I had a Moderna booster in November, the same time I was testing Paxil for my panic disorder. Three days after the booster, and two days after I had taken three night's of low-dose Paxil, my tinnitus spiked and hasn't let up, since.

I assumed it was the Paxil, but maybe it was the Moderna booster???

I have had low-level tinnitus for years (and didn't even hear it) so if I could just get the volume down, I'd be a happy guy (or old fart...)

 

@Lan2021!, it is a numbers game, but if you have had your tinnitus increase due to the vaccine you now know that the vaccine has a 100% chance of increasing your tinnitus if you have any further shots.

Obviously the odds are higher of COVID-19 increasing your tinnitus rather than the vaccine for most people, but once you have a tinnitus increase due to the vaccine, that no longer applies.